Easily the best example of a serialized narrative that I think I've ever seen, focusing on a series of ritualistic child murders in working class suburban Britain, the notorious Yorkshire Ripper case, monstrously systemic police corruption, and the very real terrors of childhood. The narrative flashes back to each preceding movie, so the whole thing interlocks, with a character who seems very minor early on becoming vital later. Chilling,obsessive, brilliant -- exactly what sequels should be but hardly ever are:

Of course in the early days of movies, the more creative approach was to take the same team of writer(s), director and lead actors and create new stories. A sort of Pseudo-sequel. These were much more popluar and successful in the days of the studio contract system when they had to work together as a team again (and again) whether they liked it or not.

Elusium saidEasily the best example of a serialized narrative that I think I've ever seen, focusing on a series of ritualistic child murders in working class suburban Britain, the notorious Yorkshire Ripper case, monstrously systemic police corruption, and the very real terrors of childhood. The narrative flashes back to each preceding movie, so the whole thing interlocks, with a character who seems very minor early on becoming vital later. Chilling,obsessive, brilliant -- exactly what sequels should be but hardly ever are:

Couldn't agree more...I found these films powerfully creepy, yet gritty and very well written and acted.

Harry Potter doesn't count. All of the movies were based on novels that were already written and published.

Back to the Future (already mentioned) has the unique feature of never having been intended as a Trilogy. If you watch the first film all the way to the end it says just that... "The End". Public outcry from fans all over the world persuaded the studio to continue it into a trilogy. The second movie was intended to be followed up on as it ends with "to be continued" and, of course, left audiences with just as great a cliffhanger as the first movie (if slightly more outlandish, if that's possible when discussing time travel). Many people discount the third movie as not being as good but it wasn't just wrapping up a trilogy. It was wrapping up the lives of two men, Marty AND the Doc. The Doc, who had been written off as a loon in 1985, finds love and has a family and Marty, well Marty gets Jennifer and DOESN'T race Needles, thereby changing his future to something we don't know about. And the third film leaves you with a great message that somehow manages to avoid being preachy like movie messages can sometimes be.